Reconditioning apparatus for doffer assemblies



Dec. 22, 1953. c. R. WORTHINGTON 2,663,123

RECONDITIONING APPARATUS FOR DOFFER ASSEMBLiES Filed May 18, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l 7% 04m. R. WORTH/NGTON //V VEN7OR HUEBNER, BEEHLER, WORREL & HERZ/G ATTORNEYS Dec- 22, 19513 c. R. WYORTHINGTON 2,663,123

RECONDITIONING APPARATUS FOR DOFF'ER ASSEMBLIES Filed May 18, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 CARI, R. WORTH/NGTON INVENTOR HUEENER, BEEHLER, WORREL a HERZ/G ATTORNEYS fixwiz w Patented Dec. 22, 1953 REQONDITIONING APPARATUS FOR DOFFER ASSEMBLIES Tulare, Calif., assignor of Carl; R. Worthington,

one-half to Corcoran Implement Company,

( rc an, C if.

Inc.,,

Ap lication May 18, 1953-, Serial No. 355,822

Claims.

. Th p s nt nvent n e a s o ools fo mehani a otton Picke s and m re p r cularly t a. recond t on n app tus f r t e d fier ssm lies f such pi e m chanical cott n pick s. it s the usual prac ce to moti te barbed pick spi dles hrough rcuitou oa hs su ce ivel hr u h p k ng i n in h mach he and a doffins tatf on-v The. p ndle a arra ed i ve ally pa ed ets. th t e. sp nd s o each s t; tra ele in he. same p th and con n uslyr tat d in a predetermined direction. Such pickers are motivated in; earth traversing movement along rows of cotton so that the plants successively Bas hrough he-picki tati n, or the mach e a d are d pri ed fitheir o ton y: the sp ndl s- It is nec ssary t remove the c tt fr t spindlesat the cloning station so that upon re-. tu n. t e pi ki g t -tion the r-action an a ain beeifective. -plished by doff'er platesrd s s. r div d yad a nt t th sp ndl s r tated at wit speed and suffic nt proximity to their :re speotive spindles so as to unwind cott n from. t e spind s whil their rotation continues. Obviously the dofier plates must rotate at a speed considerably in excess of he speedof spindle rotation and a direction traveled in, the same direction as, the barbs of the spindle to unwind thev cotton.

The dofter plates are usually metal and have rubb r o e s i a le dottin mat rial vu ani ed or o her ise c r thereto. an p vid ads ten ed ther from.-

spa in of the pads, relative to. the barbs of; the spindles is critical and ubstau-ia variati n. au the bar sv t tr k t e pads, usuall dama in both the pads and spindles, or to be so excessively spaced therefrom. as. to fail to remove picked cot-.- to'n the spindles. The latter precludes efiecs tive picking and, irequently results in excessive cotton accumulation on the; spindles: with jiam-v ming, audsorious damage to. the picker mechanism.

One of the major expenses in the maintenance of cotton pickers is the reconditioning of dofier assemblies to avoid the difficulties: :discu'ssed'. It is known to, grind the pads of the 'dofier plates soas to reoondition damaged surfaces thereof. It is also a, frequent practioe to, replace the damaged plates with new plates. Both procedures have proved obiectiona-bly expensive because of the numerous plates employedin each. picker. Oif greater consequence, are the diificulties, in-

cident to, the proper spacing of the dofferplates for proper .coaction with their respective spindles. This has proved a tedious. time consuming, and expensive task rarely performed with the preci-v sion desired, The usual practice is: to endeavor to achieve desired spacing by inserting "shims "between adjacent dofier plates. and measuring re '2 sultant. doffer pad spacing against spindle re: quirements. This is essentially a trial and error procedure which is entirely unsatisfactory but which represents the currently tolerated practice.

An object of the present inventionis, therefore, to providev an improved doffer assembly recondis tioning apparatus operable effectively on new and; used doller plates precisely to space working surfaces thereof.

Another object is to provide such an appa-v ratus which is suitable for resurfacing useddolfer plates to return the same to efficient operating condition.

Another object is to provide a reconditioning apparatus for dofler assemblies in which such assemblies can be quickly and easily mounted for rotation and removed.

Another object is to provide such an apparatus in which a grinder is speedily and easily located for successive doffer plate engagement with such precision that subsequent to grinding of the plates they present working surfaces in predetor-mined spaced relation suited to coaction with picking spindles in mechanical cotton pickers without further adjustment or measurement.

Further objects and advantages are to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in a device of the character and for the purposes set forth.

still further objects and advantages will be-. come apparent in the subsequent description in the specification,

the drawings:

Fig, 1 is a plan view of an apparatus embodyi g the pr n ipl s of e p s nt inv n n h wing 'a conventional cloffer assembly mounted therein for reconditioning purposes.

Fig, 2 is a fragmentary front elevation of the apparatus having a portion of its supporting frame broken away for illustrative convenience.

Fig. 31s an end view of the apparatus, as viewed from the right end of Fig. 2.

Fig, 4 is a fragmentary vertical transverse section through the apparatus taken on line 4-4 Eigl. 5 is a fragmentary vertical transverse sec tion through the apparatus as taken on line 5-.-5 in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

Fi 6 is enlarged fragmentary section taken on line 6.t Fig. 1.

F g. '71 is. an enlarged fragmentary section taken on. line l-l, in Fig. 4.

Referrin in reat r de a l t th raw n s:

The apparatus of the present invention, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, is adapted to recopdition cotton picker doffer assemblies of the character shown at H.

The doffer assembly I l is of conventional const u ti n and is ormallympl cd n c n tion with barbed spindles of mechanical cotton picker to remove cotton therefrom. The doifer assembly consists of an elongated spindle i5 having a plurality of circular disks 155 located there along in equally spaced concentric relation normal to the spindle. Faces of the disks disposed in a common direction have rubber vulcanized thereto providing annularly arranged, radially elongated pads 17. One end of the shaft is provided with an endwardly extended journal i8 and its opposite end is provided with a head 59.

The apparatus I0 provides a substantially rectangular frame 22 fabricated from angle iron or the like including four vertical legs 23, longitudinal horizontal side braces 24 rigidly interconnecting the legs and transverse end pieces 25 rigidly interconnecting legs at opposite ends of the longitudinal members. A head plate 28 is mounted between the upwardly extended legs at one end of the frame and a tail plate 29 mounted between the upwardly extended legs at the opposite end of the frame. The mounting plates 28 and 29 are conveniently attached to their respective legs by means of bolts 38. A rod 3| interconnects the mountin plates in fixed spaced relation adjacent to a side of the frame, hereinafter referred to as the forward side. A substantially rectangular bed plate 32 is connected to the mounting plates 28 and 29 by bolts 33 and extends substantially horizontally therebetween in parallel spaced relation to the rod.

The dofier assembly H is rotatably mounted in the frame of the apparatus by providing a bracket 38 attached to the bed plate 32 adjacent to the head plate 28. A bearing 39 is mounted in the bracket and rotatably receives the journal [8 of a doifer assembly. A hearing 40 is mounted on the tail plate 29 and has a drive shaft 4| rotatably mounted therein longitudinally of the frame. The drive shaft provides an inner end having a circular flange mounted concentrically thereon. The doffer shaft 15 is releasably connected in axial alignment with the drive shaft by a plurality of bolts 43 passed through the fiange and screw-threadably tightened into the head [9. A pulley 44 is secured to the outer end of the drive shaft.

A rectangular shelf 48 is hinged at one of its edges to one of the longitudinal side braces 24 of the frame 22 and substantially horizontally extended beneath the bed plate 32. An electric motor 56 having a reduction drive box 5! is mounted on the shelf and provides a drive pulley 52 endwardly of the frame. A belt 53 is extended around the pulleys 4d and 52. For clutching purposes, a lever 54 is welded at one of its ends to the shelf 48 and extended upwardly and thence forwardly therefrom beyond the frame of the machine. The extended end of this lever is guided in vertical pivotal movement against one of the legs 28 of the frame by an inverted L-shaped guide 55 attached to the leg and having an arm downwardly extended in substantially parallel relation thereto. Downward movement of the shelf and the members mounted thereon is ordinarily limited to the extent permitted by the belt 53 around the pulleys 44 and 52, but excessive lowering of the shelf, as in the event the belt is broken, is limited by a pin 56 extended outwardly from the leg 23 downwardly adjacent to the guide. The lever may be lifted to slacken the belt 53 when it is desired to interrupt rotation of the drive shaft 44 and the doffer assembly H. A ratchet-shaped keeper 5'! is inwardly extended from the guide and provides a releasable rest for the lever.

J in the sleeve.

An elongated index bar 62 having a plurality of circumscribing, inwardly tapered grooves 63 formed therein is mounted between the plates 28 and 29 in parallel elevationally spaced relation to the rod 3!. As most evident in Figs. 1 and 2, the grooves are equally spaced longitudinally of the index bar increments equal to the desired spacing of the corresponding faces of the pads of the dolfers l6 subsequent to reconditioning.

In order to obtain endward adjustment of the index bar, one end of the bar is slidably supported in a split sleeve 64 secured to the inner face of the tail mounting plate 29. A T-bolt 65 is extended across the split portion of the sleeve and, as shown in Fig. 1, has an extended end screw-threadably mounted in one portion of the sleeve with a circumscribing collar engaged with the opposite portion thereof whereby tightening of the bolt clamps the index bar in the sleeve. The index bar is longitudinally adjustably positioned minutely and accurately by an adjusting means 56. The adjustingmeans comprises a hollow thimble 5'3 having a closed end 68 rigidly attached to the head mounting plate 28. A screw 69 is extended longitudinally through the thimble and has an inner end screw-threaded into an opening it formed endwardly into the adjacent end of the index bar. The screw 69 has an enlarged flange 1! which engages the inner side of the closed end of the thimble. The screw extends through a bore 12 in the closed end of the thimble and is of reduced diameter at 33 exteriorly of the thimble. A knurled knob it slips over the reduced diameter of the screw with a nut '15 threaded onto the screw against the knob so that the screw and knob are rotatable unitarily. With the T-bolt 65 loosened, its end of the index bar is free to slide endwardly The index bar may then be adjustab'ly endwardly positioned by rotation of the screw 59 by the knurled knob 14. Once the desired adjustment is obtained it is maintained by tightening the T-bolt 65 and clamping the sleeve against the index bar.

Work is performed on the pads of the dolfer assembly by a grinder mounted on a support 8| having a cylindrical opening 82 therethrough which slidably and rotatably fits the index bar. The support extends upwardly from the index bar and has a bore 83 formed through its extended portion in axially parallel relation to the index bar. A grinder spindle 84 is rotatably supported in the bore 83 with a grinding wheel 85 attached concentrically to one of its ends and a pulley 86 similarly secured to its opposite end. The upper portion of the support and the grindmg wheel thereon are movable toward and away from the doifer assembly by pivoting of the support by manual manipulation of a handle 87 extended forwardly from the support. A motor mounting plate 88 extends downwardly from the support 8|. A motor 89 having a driving pulley 80 is attached to the rear side of the motor mounting plate. A belt 9| extends circuitously around the pulleys 86 and 98 whereby the grinding wheel is rotated by operation of the motor 89. For reasons soon to become apparent, the grinding wheel and the motor are located in substantially diametrically oppositely spaced relation to the index bar 82. The grinding wheel 85 is adjustably positionable along the index bar to precise predetermined positions for grinding the faces of the pads I? on the disks 38 to their proper uniform spacing. For this purpose a sleeverafi vuaxtendszendwtnzdly from the isupport. 8|

and zthe--cylindrica1 opening 812* of. the. support also formed; through the sleeve. A radial :bore 9:1. is formed through .the sleeve 9.6 'andla riser 98- attached radially of the sleeve'by. boltsjgab in: zagposition. over the bore '91". .A centralbore. Hi0. is machined through -:the. riser -'in; alignment with. the radial bore .91: :in thesleeve, and a counterbore il-Jkl .formed in axial :alignmentitherewith defining;:a :shoulder. 102 21, the juncture of the.s.bore..-I=llll randzthecounterbore I01. An elongated'rdetent pin =.lifl3 extends slidably in'torthe central .:b.ore 1.0.1 and has ;a.i'frusto -conical1 inner end; I 04 adapted. togrest in "the tapered. grooves (t3::in..the;.index bar .62., :The 'pin hasan integral enlarged'acollar m5; thereon which. rides in the counterhone' 1 Oil The :pinis aurged iinwardlytoward the :index-'-bar by a. ihelical :cOmpression spring. I05: located: in. "the Lcounterbore lill betweenathe eollar; 4 .0.55 onthe pin and cap L01 screwed ontheiouter end of the risen. T.-

handlea-lzflszat .the outer end of the pin permits the .manual ."withdrawing of; the .pinirom seated. engagementrin any of. the grooves-EH3 :for repositioning .-purposes-.. .The pinimay be held. in swith drawnspositi'onby :providing a J-slot 1.0.9 inrthe riser andiaiatch .pind Ii];- extended radially from. the adjusting. pin into the .J.-slot. After 'the adjusting. pinis manually withdrawn :from a-igroove,

thezpiniisu'otated cto move :the .latch :pin :into .the laterally extended portion ofjithe slot.. With-the adjusting pinaheld. in: withdrawn position, the grinding wheelt.may bemoved longitudinally of the .index bar itO :any desired location therealong.

0n reverse rotationwfrthe IT-handle, the :ad-

justin'g pin is 'released'for :return to any selected groove 63;

Operation 'Theoperation and utility of; the present vention arebelieved' tobe apparent 1andjare"brijei; l y summarized at this point. A 'doifer. assembly lil in need of servicing,isplacedinthe apparatus by inserting its journal l8into the bearing 39 in the bracket 38 and ."by attaching. the head 19 thereof to the attaching diskj42 on. the drive.

shaft 41 by means of'the, bolts 43. The motor 50'is then energizedjtorotate.the dofier'assembly. The index bar 62 is longitudinally adjusted, the framean'd secured in positionjinthe manner described. It will' be recalled. that. the. grooves, 63 are spaced in precise conformance to the de, sired spacing of the operative faces of the pads 1"! when mounted in a cotton picking machine.

The adjusting pin I03 is withdrawn .frQm en.- gagement with its groovefli'3 and preferably .110 tatedso as to be lheldrel'easably in retracted po-- sition. The grinder 8111 and its support 81, arejthlen slid longitudinally of the index bar 62 until the pin is aligned with the .endmost groove 63. adjacentto. the head plate 29, as shown inFigs. 1..an.d. 2. The pin is released and springpressedinto. the. groove whereupon the support .8"! is held in fixed position longitudinally of. the index bar but is rotatable on the index. bar for movement of the. grinder 8|] toward and from. the doffer assembly. so adjusted, the grinding wheel should bev engageable with the pads l! of they endmost disk It of the dofier assembly to remove a predeter-- mined thickness of material therefrom. If not, the index baris. readjusted to desired position.

With the motor 89 rotating the grinder 80,

thetgrin'ding wheel "85 is'bro'ught into engagement with the pads I! of the disk I6 rotated adjacent thereto by rotating: or pivoting the support 81 on the index bar. The engagement of the pin H13 in its groove fitmainta-ins the grinding wheel mon plane normal to the axis of rotation of the doffer assembly.

When the pads 11 on the ffirst disk arefithus reconditioned, the pin I03 is withdrawn from the groove 63 and the support 8| slid longitudinally of index bar 62 until the pin is aligned with the next groove. The pin is released for engagement in said next groove, precisely positioning the support 81' and grinder for operation on the pads .11 of the adjacent disk [6.

Upon completion'of the grinding action ensuecessive dofier disks, the doffer assembly is "released from the apparatus by removing the bolts es and Withdrawing the journal-i8 from :the be'aring 39. The dofier assembly can then be reinstalled in its "cotton picker with prefect assurance that the dofiingsurfaces of the pads are properly spaced for 'coaction with their respective picking spindles. This is true whether the doffer disks ground by the apparatus are-new or used. Whatever axialadjustments of thedofter assembly in the pic'kerfmay be found-desirable, the assembly automatically correspondingly positions all-of the disks i 6 and-their respective pads.

The motor 89 and the grinder 8'0 are mounted on the support '81 so that they'are balancedon the index bar 82 in approximate position shbw'n in Fig. l. Thus, when'thehandle 87 is released by an operator, the grinder is retracted f-rom the doffer assembly. The ba la-nce issuch, however, that the-grinder is moved inwardly oi the rotated doffer assembly easily and without fatigueby "lifting upwardly on the-handle. Similarly, movement longitudinally of the index bar is ei-'- fected by an operator having one hand grasp ing the handle and the other grasping "the pin N13 to, release the same.

Rotation of the doffer assembly 1 his convent,- i'ently 'interruptedby raising the lever 54; Hit; is desired to interrupt such rotation for an appreciable period of time, the lever is normally. rested 'on the keeper '51. To renew rotation, the lever is released for gravitational return "to the pin *56 whereupon the belt 53 is tightened into driving interconnection of the pulleys M and 52.

The apparatus of the present inventionfhaa substantially reduced the costjandjincreased the speed of reconditioning d'offer, assemblies. The

reconditioned doffer assemblies are superior to.

those hereofore attained particularly in thejprecision of spacing of the-working surfaces of the pads,

Although the invention has been herein "shown, and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it recognized that departuresfmay be made therefrom "within the scope of the invention, whichjis. not to be limited to the details disclosed herein.

but is to be accorded the iul'l scope of the claims so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices rotation in a" predetermined position, a-n

bar mounted in the frame in substantially parallel relation to the position for the doffer assembly, said bar having circumscribing grooves in substantially equally spaced relation therealong, a support member pivotall mounted on the index bar for slidable movement longitudinally thereof, a power driven grinder mounted on the support member for doifer assembly engagement, and means borne by the support menu her for engagement in the grooms of the index lbar releasably to retain the support member in :fixed position longitudinally of the index bar and slidable in the grooves to accommodate pivotal movement of the support member while retained in said fixed longitudinal position.

2. In a doffer assembly reconditioning apparatus, a frame, an elongated index bar having circumscribing grooves therein in substantially equally spaced relation longitudinally thereof, means mounting the index bar in a substantially horizontal position in the frame for adjustable longitudinal movement, a support member rotatably mounted on the index bar, a detent pin mounted for longitudinal slidable movement on the support member radially of the index bar, resilient means urging the pin toward the bar for engagement in the grooves releasably to re tain the support member in adjusted position longitudinally of the bar while accommodating rotatable movement of the support member on the bar, a grinder mounted on the support member eccentrically of the index bar, and means for rotatably mounting a doffer assembly in the frame in substantially parallel relation to the index bar for engagement therewith by the grinder.

3. A doffer assembly reconditioning apparatus comprising a support frame, means in the frame adapted to mount a doffer assembly in predetermined horizontal position for rotation about an axis concentric thereto, a shelf pivotally mounted in the frame beneath the mounting means for movement about an axis substantially parallel to the doffer assemblys axis of rotation, a pulley on the mounting means, a motor mounted on the shelf having a pulley aligned with the pulley on the mounting means, a belt circumscribing the pulleys and supporting the motor and the shelf on the mounting means, an index bar mounted in the frame in substantially parallel relation to the mounting means, said bar having circumscribing annular grooves in substantially equally spaced relation longitudinally of the bar, a support member rotatably and slidably mounted on the bar, a power driven grinder mounted on the support member eccentrically of the bar for engagement with dolfer assemblies mounted in the mounting means, and detent means borne by the support member engageable with the grooves of the bar releasably to retain the support member in fixed position longitudinally of the bar while accommodating rotatable positioning of the support member on the bar.

4. In a doffer assembly reconditioning apparatus, a frame having substantially parallel end plates providing horizontally aligned openings therethrough, a split sleeve mounted in substantially horizontal position on one of the plates in registry with the opening therein, a substantially cylindrical thimble rigidly mounted in axial alignment with the sleeve in the opening of the plate opposite to the plate mounting the sleeve, said thimble having on open end disposed toward the sleeve and an opposite closed end having a bore concentrically therethrough, a screw rotatably mounted in the bore of the thimble in fixed axial relation to the thimble and extended 1ongitudinally thereof toward the sleeve, an index bar having an end slidably mounted in the sleeve and an opposite end slidably mounted in the thimble providing a co-axially disposed bore having the screw screw-threadably mounted therein for longitudinal positioning of the bar relative to the thimble, means for constricting the sleeve about the bar to secure the bar in adjusted longitudinal position, said bar having a plurality of circumscribing grooves located in planes normal to the bar substantially equally spaced longitudinally of the bar, each of the grooves having convergent side walls inwardly of the bar, a support member pivotally mounted on the bar for slidable movement longitudinally thereof, a detent pin mounted for'reciprocal longitudinal movement in the support member radially of the index bar having a frusto-conical inner end engageable with the convergent side wallsof the grooves releasably to retain the support member in adjusted position longitudinally of the bar while accommodating pivotal movement of the support member by slidable movement of the pin in the grooves, resilient means urging the pin toward the bar, a power driven grinder mounted on the support member having a grinding wheel rotated about an axis substantially parallel to the bar, and means for releasably mounting dolfer assemblies in the frame in parallel relation to the bar for engagement by the grinding wheel.

5. A doffer assembly reconditioning apparatus comprising a support frame, means in the frame adapted to mount a dofier assembly in predetermined horizontal position in the frame for rotation about an axis concentric thereto, driving means connected to the mounting means for rotating such doffer assembly, an elongated index bar mounted in the frame in parallel relation to the axis of rotation, of doffer assembly in the frame, the index bar having circumscribing rooves therein in substantially equally spaced relation longitudinally thereof, each located in a plane normal to the index bar and having inwardly convergent side walls, means interconnecting the index bar and the frame longitudinally adjustably positioning the bar in the frame, a support member mounted on the index bar for adjustable slidable movement longitudinally thereof and rotatable positioning thereon, a grinder mounted on the support having a grinding wheel rotatable in a plane normal to the axis of rotation of the doffer assembly, a motor mounted on the support havin driving connection to the grinder, the motor and the grinder being so positioned on the support member as to balance on the index bar with the motor therebelow and the grinder thereabove disposed adjacent to the predetermined position for the doffer assembly, a handle extended from the support member whereby the support member may be rotated on the index bar to move the grinding wheel to and from doifer assembly engagement, an elongated detent pin mounted for longitudinal slidable movement on the support member radially of the index bar having a frusto-conical inner end slidably fitted to the convergent side walls of the grooves, and resilient means urging the pin toward the index bar for position controlling engagement in the grooves while the support member is rotatably positioned on the index bar.

CARL R. WORTHINGTON.

No references cited. 

